Opinion: Antisemitism and Jewish life in Europe and the US after Oct. 7
Two right-leaning opinion pieces argue that antisemitic attacks and hostility since Oct. 7, 2023 have changed Jewish life in Europe and the US. One opens with a truck idling outside Temple Israel's preschool near Detroit; the other describes security measures and social exclusion in Europe.
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The story, neutrally told
Right · 1A Washington Examiner opinion piece by Daniel Ross Goodman opens with a scene at Temple Israel's early childhood center in suburban Detroit, where 140 preschoolers were settling into classrooms on a Thursday morning. Washington ExaminerR “140 preschoolers were settling into their classrooms at Temple Israel’s early childhood center when a Ford F-150 pulled into the parking lot.” Read at Washington Examiner ↗ Right · 1In that account a Ford F-150 pulled into the parking lot and sat there idling for more than two hours. Washington ExaminerR “For more than two hours, the truck sat there, idling.” Read at Washington Examiner ↗ Right · 1The piece's headline links the 'war on European Jews' to 'the new reality of American Jewish life', framing the Detroit-area incident as part of a wider pattern. Washington ExaminerR “The war on European Jews and the new reality of American Jewish life” Read at Washington Examiner ↗
Right · 1In a JNS opinion piece, Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt argues that Jewish life in Europe has been 'permanently altered' in the three years since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, which he calls the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. JNSR “Three years after the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, the change extends far beyond politics. European Jewish life has been permanently altered.” Read at JNS ↗ Right · 1He cites a vote by Britain's Green Party over the weekend to define Zionism as a form of racism, a formulation he says was once promoted by the Soviet Union. JNSR “This weekend, Britain’s Green Party voted to define Zionism as a form of racism, reviving a formulation once promoted by the Soviet Union.” Read at JNS ↗ Right · 1Goldschmidt says synagogues and Jewish schools across the continent sit behind blast barriers, reinforced gates, CCTV and sometimes armed police or military protection, and that security spending diverts money from teachers, elderly care and youth programs. JNSR “synagogues and Jewish schools sit behind blast barriers, reinforced gates, controlled entrances, CCTV cameras and, in some cities, armed police or military protection.”“Money that should employ teachers, care for the elderly and sustain youth programs is spent instead on guards, surveillance, hardened entrances and emergency planning.” Read at JNS ↗
Right · 1He recalls the Yom Kippur attack on Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Manchester last year, in which two worshippers died, and says two Iranian nationals are now accused of preparing another attack on Manchester's Jewish community after allegedly conducting hostile surveillance of the same synagogue and a Jewish museum. JNSR “The attack on Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Manchester on Yom Kippur last year, in which two worshippers died, made that fear horribly real.”“Now two Iranian nationals stand accused of preparing another attack on Manchester’s Jewish community” Read at JNS ↗ Right · 1He also describes what he calls 'conditional acceptance' in universities and culture, where Jews are expected to distance themselves from Israel, and says some families are discussing emigration. JNSR “You may belong, provided you are sufficiently distant from Israel, sufficiently apologetic and sufficiently unlike the Jews whom fashionable opinion has decided to condemn.”“Families who assumed their future in Europe was settled begin discussing emigration.” Read at JNS ↗ Right · 1Goldschmidt adds that Jewish identity has strengthened in many communities, citing his partnership with the Muslim World League and Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa as evidence that confrontation is not inevitable. JNSR “In many communities, Oct. 7 has strengthened Jewish identity.”“Our partnership with the Muslim World League and Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa shows that Jews, Muslims and Christians need not accept permanent confrontation as Europe’s future.” Read at JNS ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left0 outlets
No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Centre0 outlets
No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Right2 outlets
- Framing
- Both opinion pieces present a deteriorating environment for Jews: the Examiner links a Detroit-area incident to a European 'war', while JNS argues Europe's mainstream has failed Jews since Oct. 7.
- Emphasis
- Security fortification, fear in daily life, institutional and political hostility to Zionism, and the Temple Israel scene.
- Leaves out or plays down
- No outlet from the left or centre covered this. The available Examiner text does not say how the Temple Israel incident ended or who was involved.
- Charged language
- “war on European Jews”“worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust”“conditional acceptance”
- For example
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“The war on European Jews and the new reality of American Jewish life” — Washington Examiner
“The Jewish belief that the center would hold against antisemitism has been badly damaged.” — JNS
What every side reports
- Both pieces are opinion essays from right-leaning outlets.
- Both treat antisemitic threats since Oct. 7, 2023 as having changed Jewish communal life.
Left0 articles
No coverage yet.
Centre0 articles
No coverage yet.
Right2 articles
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Washington ExaminerR · · Opinion
The war on European Jews and the new reality of American Jewish life
Alarmist Opens with a tense scene at a Detroit-area Jewish preschool to introduce a 'new reality' of American Jewish life.
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JNSR · · Opinion
Oct. 7 changed Jewish life in Europe
Critical A rabbi's essay arguing Europe's political and cultural mainstream no longer reliably opposes antisemitism, while noting a resurgence of Jewish identity.
- 4 Oct 11:00 First Washington ExaminerR The war on European Jews and the new reality of American Jewish life Opinion
- 6 Oct 10:30 +47h 30m JNSR Oct. 7 changed Jewish life in Europe Opinion
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.